The lithographic technologies have been advanced and diversified, and novel lithographic methods have been proposed as emerging lithographic technologies. An example is a lithographic exposure method using near-field light that enables ultra-fine processing beyond the diffraction limit of light.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,730 proposes an exposure apparatus based on an exposure method using near-field light, wherein an exposure mask is made of a resilient material and wherein, by elastically deforming the mask to follow the surface shape of a resist, the whole surface of the exposure mask is brought into intimate contact with the resist surface, whereby exposure using near-field light is carried out.
In the exposure apparatus and exposure method disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. patent, first, the exposure mask and the object to be exposed are brought close to each other up to a predetermined distance and then, the exposure mask is elastically deformed (flexed) to bring the exposure mask and the object to be exposed into contact with each other. In such a structure, however, if the distance between the exposure mask and the object to be exposed deviates from the predetermined distance, the amount of extension of the exposure mask to be elastically deformed would change, and it would cause a change in the size or spacing of a pattern to be transferred to the object to be exposed. Such a problem has never been considered in the near-field exposure technologies.